Nanna Ditzel

Nanna Ditzel (1923-2005) was one of the most relevant female figures in the history of Scandinavian design, so much so that she was nicknamed “the First Lady of Danish design”. In the course of her busy life she has fully embodied the different styles that have followed one another in the world of twentieth century design, mainly dealing with jewelry design. Nanna Hauberg was born of her and assumed her current surname following her marriage to her first husband, Jørgen Ditzel (1921-1961), met during their studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen where both attended the courses of great masters like Kaare Klint and Peter Hvidt. Starting from 1946 they began to work permanently together and founded their own studio in Hallerup, designing simple furnishings capable of solving small practical problems of everyday life such as kitchen furniture or kitchen modules designed for small apartments. In those years he designed one of his most famous creations for R. Wangler, the Egg hanging chair in woven cane (now re-proposed by Sika Deisgn), as well as an appreciated collection of silver jewelery with organic shapes for Georg Jensen, while it dates back to the following decade the successful Hallingdal fabric collection for Kvadrat. Among the numerous awards achieved in that period there are three Silver Medals (1951, 1954, 1957) and a Gold Medal (1960) obtained at the Milan Triennale and a Lunning Award (1956). After Jørgen's untimely death she moved to London with her second husband Kurt Heide and there she opened one of the most renowned furniture stores in the city, Interspace, which specializes in Italian furniture. After being widowed for a second time, she returned to Copenhagen and there she lived a second artistic youth, creating plywood seats with creative processes that made the fortune of the historic Fredericia brand. Today her creations are also published by brands such as Kettal, Carl Hansen&Søn and Getama.